North Washington Street Historic District
North Church St. generally bounded by O’Connell and North Green streets; North Washington St. generally bounded by O’Connell and Elm streets, Watertown, Dodge and Jefferson counties
Construction dates of contributing buildings: c.1849-1950
Watertown was first settled in the late 1830s and was incorporated as a village in 1843. It originally served as an important commercial center for residents of the surrounding agricultural landscape. Early local industries flourished; in addition to several sawmills in the area, gristmills, wood product mills, brick yards, a woolen mill, and an iron foundry were established. The arrival of the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad in 1855 and the Chicago and NorthWestern Railroad in 1860 encouraged growth and residential settlement, and provided the village with an economic advantage over other smaller nearby communities. With the industry, developing transportation routes, and growing population, Watertown took on the appearance and fortitude of a small city by the 1860s. Accordingly, residential development also increased between 1860 and 1900 as those involved in local commerce and politics used their wealth to construct significant homes.
The North Washington Street Historic District is one of the best intact collections of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century residences located in Watertown. The district contains 108 single-family homes and two commercial buildings built between c.1849 and 1950. The district features a variety of architectural styles, including high-style nineteenth-century Italianate, Second Empire, and Queen Anne houses and twentieth-century American Foursquare, Craftsman, Craftsman Bungalow, Dutch Revival, and Tudor Revival examples. It also includes vernacular forms, such as the Gabled Ell, which is quite prominent in this district. The use of local cream brick applied to a variety of architectural styles lends cohesion to the district. These homes demonstrate intact and stylistically interesting examples of residential architecture built in Watertown during the time of greatest economic growth and residential development.
These buildings are privately owned and not open to the public. Please respect the privacy of their owners.
The north half of this district is located in Dodge County. |